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Cycling from Lord’s to The Gabba
By Will last year, at the start of August, 1 Comment »
Cricket does something odd to people. The Ashes does something even odder. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to inspire crazy, unlikely ideas to spring out of nowhere; cricket acts as a platform on which the maddest of plans are hatched, and most of them come off. The latest comes from Oli Broom who writes in with the cheery news that he’s going to cycle, on his own, from Lord’s to The Gabba in Brisbane and he hopes to raise £4 for every kilometer. His legs will have taken him 25,000km.
There’ll be a fuller piece on this at Cricinfo in the next day or two but, in the meantime, here’s what Oli is planning:
In October this year I am starting a 25,000 km solo cycling expedition from Lord’s to The Gabba in time to take my seat for the first Ashes test in Brisbane (the Ashes tour itinerary hasn’t been set but the first test is likely to be around 25th November 2010).
In short, the expedition has 3 aims:
1. To cycle from Lord’s to The Gabba in time to see England play Australia in the first Ashes Test Match of the 2010/11 series. I’m hoping to have friends / colleagues join me for certain legs of the journey – quite a few have expressed an interest.
2. To raise £10 for every kilometre that I cycle (so about £250,000). Funds raised are to be divided between two charities – The Lord’s Taverners, whose mission sits very well next to the aims of the expedition – and the British Neurological Research Trust at UCL (a close friend I used to play cricket with broke his neck and is now paralysed and needs 24 hour care – the BNRT undertake ground breaking research into such injuries).
3. To play cricket in as many countries as I can on my way across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Sub-Continent, South-East Asia and Australia. These games wont all be scheduled matches, although I’m hoping to get a few proper ones through contacts at the ICC, MCC and Lords Taverners.
Click here to download the PDF with all his aims and ambitions and media contacts.
1 Comment »The architecture of cricket grounds
By Will last year, mid-June, 3 Comments »
Riya from the Architecture Journal wrote in to let me know of a piece they’ve done: six of the best cricket grounds.
They are, in descending order:
- DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, India
- MCG, Melbourne, Australia
- Kensington Oval, Barbados
- Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa
- Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
- Winner: Lord’s, London, England
1. Lord’s, London, England
As well as Victorian architect Thomas Verity’s Pavilion, which still stands, completed in 1890, the architects who have made additions to ‘The Home of Cricket’ is a who’s who of the significant hi-tech architects of the late twentieth century. Most famous is the Lord’s Media Centre, which won Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete’s Future Systems the Stirling Prize in 1999.
The bulbous form is supported above the ground by two lift shafts and its glazed facade give journalists and commentators an uninterrupted view of the ground. The curved structure was fabricated using boat-building technology and was the first all aluminium, semi-monocoque building in the world.
Adjacent to this is Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners Grandstand, completed in 1996. The stand is a three tier post-tensioned structure with capacity for 6,200 spectators.
Completing the high-tech group, Hopkins and Partners designed Lord’s Mound Stand, an intervention that retained the original Victorian arcade on the ground’s exterior while building a new steel superstructure topped off with an exuberant fabric canopy of PVC-coated polyester fabric.
Less public, but an important project nevertheless, is David Morley Architects’ Indoor Cricket School on the same site. It was the first indoor facility to utilise natural light for the playing area.
Behind the scenes at Lord’s
By Will last year, mid-May, 2 Comments »
Stop what you’re doing and look at this gallery of behind-the-scenes at Lord’s, by Graham Morris, the Times’ outstanding cricket photographer and a top bloke to boot. The 18 shots tell the modern Lord’s tale brilliantly.
Cricket at Lord’s
By Will last year, mid-May, 3 Comments »
I’ve not watched a Test at Lord’s as a fan for some four years, which is a bit of a blight on my character and personality. Miles Jupp has an interesting and worrying piece on the intrusiveness of the stewards.
3 Comments »Simply getting around the ground was a bit of a hassle yesterday. The energy firm who generously sponsor our home Tests were marketing aggressively, as I imagine they will at all grounds this summer – even Cardiff if there’s room. It’s bad enough being cold-called at home by people who want you to consider changing your energy supplier, but to be harangued about it at cricket matches somehow feels like even more of an invasion.
What I find particularly odd about Lord’s is that many of the people with stewarding responsibilities appear to be members of the armed forces. It’s as if the Test has been organised by some rather flamboyant man who works in events and thought it might be rather fun to have “a lot of people dressed as sailors”.
Alternatively, and more frighteningly, they are genuine soldiers and the reason that Gordon and Barack have been withdrawing troops from war zones is because the Ashes are coming up, and they feel they really need their top people making sure that no-one dares even think about using a Blackberry in the Edrich stand.
Lord’s: for men of substance
By Will last year, at the start of May, 8 Comments »
I’m not one for looking too deeply into the meaning of sporting venues on the human psyche, but I did enjoy reading Suresh Menon’s Print Run on the books that have been written about Lord’s. In particular, this:
“Chief among the charming characteristics of Lord’s is its dignity. To sit at Lord’s is to share in substance and so become a man of substance yourself.” JM Kilburn
Dignity is exactly right. I tried to explain Lord’s to a South African the other week, and the closest analogy I could come up with was the feeling that you’re watching it in a living room surrounded by a few thousand fans, many of whom aren’t there for the cricket but are there to be there. That it’s a social occasion ought, by default, to dilute the atmosphere but it doesn’t: it encourages a sleepy, soporific interest in the game.
Lord’s is like a grand piano in the corner of the room. It looks good with or without a player.
8 Comments »Lord’s weathervane tattoos
By Will last year, at the start of March, No Comments; be the first!
Yes, not something I’ve considered either. But someone’s done it:
i have the weathervane tattooed on my back with some minor personal additions! all for $150 – much cheaper than the quoted MCC price.
Laugh, cry, then phone the nurse.
No Comments »Order your own Lord’s weathervane
By Will last year, at the start of March, 4 Comments »
Oh, this is too good:
The iconic Father Time weathervane which proudly stands above Lord’s The Home of Cricket can now be purchased exclusively through www.shopatlords.com .The weathervane is made of mild steel and is zinc plated to protect against the elements, passivated and powder coated. The cardinal points, the sides and the ball are gilded with 23.5 carat gold leaf. Dimensions 20″ across the cardinal points, overall height 44.5″. Easy to assemble and full instructions are included. Please allow 28 days for delivery. If you require delivery overseas please email MCC@codestorm.co.uk for a delivery quotation to your country before ordering.
Yours for £275.
4 Comments »Lord’s lights up
By Will last year, at the end of January, No Comments; be the first!
Lord’s announced today that Westminster council have granted them permission to erect retractable floodlights. It’s a huge step forward for one of the world’s most iconic grounds, particularly given its location, and they’ve had difficulty (understandably) with the Westminster locals.
Lord's proposed new floodlighting
Thanks to the interweb and the openness of such things, you can read all about the planning process at Westminster Council’s site. Everything – all the documents, proposals, images – is available, and it makes for interesting reading for fans and locals alike.
The “review” (basically a letter of persuasion by MCC to the council) is worth a look (PDF) as is this scetch detailing the height of the structures in relation to the scoreboard. My Dad was an architect; why did I never find all this interesting when he’d bore me senseless with his own drawings? Probably because they were of petrol stations and not havens like Lord’s.
The company entrusted by the MCC is Abacus, who did Stanford’s lighting (which was controversial – remember all those dropped catches in the jamboree last year?) and at the ground in Kanpur. The difficulty Lord’s and other cricket grounds face is reaching a compromise between illuminating the ball at night, and preventing light spilling onto other people’s houses. Westminster seem to be happy; given how clever MCC have been in marrying the old (pavilion) with the new (media centre) in recent times, it’ll be fascinating to see how they work these new lights in.
No Comments »London 2009
By Jonathan Liew 2 years ago, at the start of February, 10 Comments »
The inaugural Twenty20 World Cup is coming to England in 2009, which means a bumper summer of cricket for the whole country. As long, that is, if you live in London. Two of the three grounds chosen to host matches will be Lord’s (group games, super eights and the final) and The Oval (warm-ups, group games, super eights and a semi-final). Which leaves one semi and change for another lucky, lucky ground. The Rose Bowl, perhaps?
Now I live in London, and personally, this suits me down to the ground. In addition, there’s no doubting that the two grounds in question are superb venues. But London is not England. Cricket fans in the Midlands and the North have every right to feel aggrieved at this.
Apparently, if you believe Steve Elworthy, it’s all to do with travelling distances, which was a major factor in last year’s tournament. But a short trundle up the M6 isn’t really the same as 1600 kilometres from Durban to Cape Town. London to Nottingham to Manchester to London in the space of two weeks isn’t going to jet-lag anybody.
It’s not just this, either. Why, for example, is London is guaranteed Tests a summer out of seven (when it has about 15% of the population)? You have to wonder whether the predominance of Lord’s and The Oval is due primarily to the quality of their facilities, or the quality of their lobbyists.
10 Comments »Lord’s moves out of the Dark Ages
By Jonathan Liew 3 years ago, mid-September, No Comments; be the first!
In the beginning was Lord’s. And all around was a formless void, swathed in darkness. And the MCC said: “Let there be light,†and light appeared. And 5,000 fans saw that the light was good, even though it was only temporary. And the local residents didn’t kick up too much of a fuss. And thus Lord’s took a bold step into the 21st century.
From the distinct lack of glitz on display on Monday night, It’s immediately clear that night cricket at Lord’s will never enjoy the same raucous atmosphere it does at The Oval. But then again, nor should it. The long overdue experiment will hopefully transform the Lord’s experience into something more thrilling and inclusive whilst retaining its respectful eloquence. Day-night games at Lord’s will feel rather like a garden party to which the whole family is invited. There really is no reason why floodlights should automatically be synonymous with furry mascots and Gwen Stefani.
No Comments »Tribute to Patrick Eagar
By Will 3 years ago, mid-July, No Comments; be the first!
Tomorrow marks Patrick Eagar’s 300th[1] Test match. It is a phenomonal achievement to have stayed at the top of his profession, in what has become a frenzied market, for so long. There will be a presentation made to him at some point during the Test, and it is richly deserved. He is an outstanding artist and photographer who has captured the vast majority of iconic imagery in cricket in the past 30 or 40 years. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but he’s a true gent – accomodating, interesting and without a trace of pomposity or ceremony about him which, given the success he has had, you might expect to be the case.
Congratulations Patrick. And so what if he missed the last two West Indies Tests in order to stage his 300th at the home of cricket! Check out his website; you’ll probably spot half a dozen photos which you’ve already seen (not least the catch Andrew Strauss took during the 2005 Ashes).
[1] At least, I think it’s the 300th – could be more…
No Comments »England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord’s, 5th day
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 8 Comments »
So, both sides are going for the win apparently. West Indies need 401, England 10 wickets, but the weather’s not great. Murky, and rain is expected. Anyway, keep an eye on the scorecard and leave your thoughts in the comments.
8 Comments »England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord’s, 3rd day
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 24 Comments »
The third day from Lord’s. England are storming through this Test. Overnight declaration or will they bat for 20 minutes just to grind West Indies further into da mire?
Chat away
24 Comments »England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord’s, 2nd day
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 19 Comments »
England, your task today is simple. Rack up at least 450, then bowl West Indies out for under 200. Weather is set fair so we should be in for a full day’s play. West Indies were quite dreadful yesterday, their bowlers lacking discipline and form. England just cruised along…
Leave your thoughts in the comments, if you so wish
19 Comments »England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord’s, 1st day
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 11 Comments »
It’s not chucking it down. That’s the good news. But it is drizzling, so we might be in for a delayed start and a stop-start kind of day. Looks like Flintoff will miss out.
Keep an eye on the commentary and leave your thoughts below.
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